Burns baseball, Kings Mountain softball regional finals headed for winner-take-all Game 3s
Kings Mountain softball isn’t ready for a stellar 2024 season to end just yet.
The Lady Mountaineers avoided elimination Thursday, downing Piedmont 3-2 in Game 2 of their NCHSAA 3A West championship series. A winner-take-all Game 3 is set for Saturday at Kings Mountain, with first pitch at 6 p.m.
In Tuesday’s opener, Piedmont scored twice in the first as part of a 3-1 win over the Lady Mountaineers. Kings Mountain proved Thursday turnabout is fair play, striking first in the opening frame and riding a dominant pitching effort to the finish line.
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With two out in the first, Desiree Green’s double to left field scored two, giving Kings Mountain an early lead. It added to the lead in the fourth, Kaydance Whitaker’s RBI base hit giving the Lady Mountaineers a 3-0 advantage.
Maddie Huffman took things from there, allowing two runs on four hits with six strikeouts in a complete game effort. She outdueled Piedmont’s Jailyn Thomas, who allowed three runs on five hits with nine strikeouts.
Piedmont made things interesting in the seventh, however, Reagan Loving paying off a Tara Deese double with a two-out, RBI base hit to cut its deficit to 3-2. Huffman swiftly killed the suspense, striking out Bristol Outen in four pitches to end the game.
Green led Kings Mountain with two hits, two RBIs and a run scored. In addition to Whitaker, Huffman and Kali Weaver also earned a base hit. Loving led Piedmont with two hits and an RBI.
Burns 38-game win streak snapped
Burns baseball suffered its first loss in 384 days Thursday, falling in Game 2 of its NCHSAA 2A West championship series to East Rutherford.
The Cavalier win pushes the series to a winner-take-all Game 3 Saturday at The Dog Lot in Lawndale. First pitch is at 7 p.m.
Burns ace Colby Putnam pitched six innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits with three strikeouts. He was outdueled on this night by East Rutherford’s Malachi Dato, the sophomore allowing a run on seven hits with five strikeouts.
Dato’s only mistake came in the third, McGowan’s solo home run to center field tying the game 1-1. The Burns junior slugger extended his hitting streak to 22 games and has four home runs in his last three outings. East Rutherford responded immediately, a Colby Condrey double scoring one to give his team a 2-1 advantage. The following inning, the Cavaliers parlayed a hit batsman into a two-run lead.
McGowan and Hagan Hoyle each had two hits for the Bulldogs, with Putnam, Mason Humphries and Camden Mackall contributing a hit apiece.
This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Burns baseball, Kings Mountain softball facing winner-take-all Game 3s
